Heart-ectomy for Obamacare: Did Obama's Lawyers Really Make This Argument?

By now you've heard that a federal three-judge panel ruled that the Affordable Care Act does not permit federal subsidies to help people buy insurance through HealthCare.gov. This cuts the heart from the redistributive scheme by essentially pricing young, healthy people out of the market.

But scrolling down in The New York Times story, I found the stunning argument that the Obama administration offered in a vain attempt to rescue the president's sole accomplishment.

Basically, the law says only the states can help people pay for their Obamacare policies. So, here's how the all the president's lawyers tried to get around that.

Obama administration officials said that an exchange established by the federal government was, in effect, established by a state because the secretary of health and human services was standing “in the shoes” of states when she established exchanges.

Imagine how Obama and his cronies might apply that principle.

Federal executive branch officers can act on behalf of the legislative branch in each of the states. This is a shocking coup attempt against federalism, republican governance, the separation of powers and the Constitution itself.

No, it's not the first time he's tried something like this, but forgive me if I never grow accustomed to the audacity of these would-be transformers.